Judge Rory MacCabe is due to hear 14 Shell to Sea related cases scheduled for next Tuesdays sitting of Castlebar circuit court. The stakes are high: Five people are appealing prison sentences imposed last year, and may go directly to jail if they lose their appeals.

Despite the vindication of the campaign by An Bord Pleanála - who in November rejected over half of Shell's latest on-shore pipeline route on safety grounds – those who have rightly campaigned against the project over the years continue to be dragged before the courts, and may well be unjustly imprisoned after Tuesday’s court in Castlebar.

Shell, along with the Government, Gardaí and judiciary would like the event to pass silently, people to go to prison quietly and serve as an example of what can happen if you stand up for your rights.

From Wednesday the 27th to Sunday the 31st of January, the Rossport Solidarity Camp hosted a wind power workshop. Local people and campers united to learn metal work, wood work and electronics to produce a fully functional 2.4 meter diameter wind turbine, now supplying power to the off-grid Rossport Solidarity House. The use of farmer's shed for the week was kindly by donated which was the perfect base for the workshop. The course was led by V3 Power, a workers co-operative based in Nottingham specialising in teaching courses in how to build DIY wind turbines.

Shell to Sea members have challenged Ministers Ryan and Ó Cuív to ensure the dismantling of 92 metres of pipe which has been laid onshore at Glengad without any planning, as stated by An Bord Pleanála [1]. They also called for the resignation of Bob Hanna of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), within Eamon Ryan's Department, for his completely inappropriate attempt to unduly influence the board at a time when the application is under consideration and the board is not accepting submissions.

Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday February 3, members of Shell to Sea met Ministers Eamon Ryan and Eamon Ó Cuív in Leinster House to discuss issues arising from the An Bord Pleanála letter of November 2, which exposed huge safety issues with Shell's application for an onshore pipeline.

This follows on from Tuesday's extension of the deadline for Shell to submit further information to An Bord Pleanála, which has been condemned by campaigners as facilitation of Shell, who received the extension despite their clear inability to provide the board with a safe design for their onshore pipeline.

An Bord Pleanála today granted Shell E&P Ireland a 4-monthextension to the previous deadline for submission of further information on Shell's application for an onshore pipeline in Erris, Co. Mayo. The deadline had previously been February 5, and has now been extended to May 31. This marks a continuation of efforts by the board to facilitate Shell and their Corrib gas project against the wishes of the local community, and despite huge concerns over issues of safety and the giveaway of Irish natural resources.

Campaigners have reacted angrily to these developments, which are seen as further efforts to enable Shell's construction of the onshore pipeline.

In other news, it has emerged that officials from Minister Éamon Ryan's department have written to An Bord Pleanála stating that they have concluded that 'the Corrib gas pipeline meet[s] all relevant safety standards and codes'[1]. This marks a clear attempt to intimate that An Bord Pleanála are failing by not following the Technical Advisory Group's (TAG) opinion, and allowing permission for Shell's onshore pipeline, and to influence the board to ignore the potentially massive repercussions of an accident during their deliberations.

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Blast from the Past

Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe’s first contact with a TD came about because he saw Clare Daly TD on ‘Tonight with Vincent Browne’ talking about policing of Corrib Gas protests, writes William Hederman

The repercussions for Garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson will be familiar to others who have publicly embarrassed An Garda Síochána. They were clearly acting in the public interest, but their revelations brought the force into disrepute, and the two men suffered as a result. Revenge was exacted – not only by colleagues, but also by way of public denunciation by the Garda Commissioner (“disgusting”), the Minister for Justice (“not co-operating”) and by various other parties loyal to the force.

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"The Corrib licence was granted under an older licensing system. No royalties are payable, just corporation tax of 25pc less any allowances that the companies enjoy. That system was completely flawed and yet again we find that there are only marginal returns for taxpayers from new gas finds."